Misadventures in Clintz City
by The Snazzy Hat
Summary: When an aspiring film writer named Arnott accidentally bungles a Montana execution, he sets off a whole series of events that threaten the lives of the Junkz clan. Meanwhile, Sam is struggling to cope with her seemingly meaningless existence and Thorpe is playing a game of Blackjack. So how can Officer Getz make sense of this story?


The four people sat at the end of the bar, all but one of them staring at their drinks. Three were men, one was a teenage girl with long copper-blonde hair and none of them could believe what had just happened.

"So who are all you guys?" asked one of the men, a teenager with scruffy brown hair. "I'm Arnott."

"Officer Getz." grunted a mountain of a man with a buzz cut after downing his third glass of beer.

"Thorpe." said a thin, well-dressed man with slicked black hair and several bandages located around his body as well as a sling before taking a gulp of his martini.

"I'm Samantha. Or Sam for short. Though I guess its Sam Sax now." said the girl, stirring her lemonade with the straw while resting a hand on the black instrument case leaning against her barstool.

The bartender, wiping a glass with a dish rag that had seen better days in the early eighties eyed the four suspiciously. "Hey doll, are you sure you don' want nothing a little stronger than that? You look like you've had a rough day."

Thorpe stiffened slightly at the man's way of talking and italiano accent before Getz put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's okay man. He 'aint with the Montanas."

"I'm not old enough to drink." The girl said nervously before taking a tentative sip from her lemonade.

"So what happened to all of yous?" The bartender asked, putting the glass back on a shelf. "Rich boy here looks pretty beat up, and the girl looks like she'd seen a ghost or somethin'."

"It's a long story." sighed Arnott.

The bartender shrugged. "I got the time. S'not like I've got many customers at the moment."

"Alright then. I guess I should start first."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Arnott had finally arrived at Clintz City. Stepping off the train and dragging his huge luggage bag behind him, he made sure that his notepad and pencil were in his pocket and the video camera was still slung around his neck. He had come to Clintz City hoping to make a career for himself in film and drum up a few ideas. Unfortunately, he never was able to afford to get into any film schools, so what he did was study movies himself and dissected them to see what he could learn. He believed that he had made some fantastic small time works, but what he really wanted was to make a Triple A Title movie! However, nobody had heard of him before, and his very first film he made was a total wash out. Hopefully things would be different here.

Stepping out of the train station, he immediately noticed the mixed atmosphere of the city. The towering buildings were surrounded by small buildings and residential areas, with street vendors of everything from hotdogs to circus tickets all around! Arnott had heard that the circus here was legendary, so he just had to see it at some stage. But he had things to do.

So after locating his apartment and setting up all his equipment, he left the house to do some thinking. He needed to come up with a good plot for his next movie.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Arnott found that it was alarmingly hard to find quiet space in Clintz City. The beach was filled with people and ice cream vendors, the streets were filled with people blasting loud rap music and even the libraries had a strange and frankly disturbing humming noise coming from seemingly below him. So the only quiet place he found was down by the docks in an abandoned warehouse. Warehouse 9.

Sitting in the shadows, he scribbled down anything that might come to mind. His thoughts were disrupted however when several unnoticed spotlights flicked on overhead and the warehouse doors screeched as they opened and shut again.

"Let's get mud wrestling ladies!" shouted a voice.

Arnott pinned himself to the wall and quieted his breathing. What the hell was going on now? It didn't look like he could leave. If he was spotted, he would probably be bludgeoned to death! It was best to just stay quiet and-

"I think I hear something."

Crap!

"Don't worry, it's probably just a rat or a seagull scuttling around." said another woman's voice.

Saved!

The whole thing continued for a good long while. Arnott could hear the slapping of mud and the giggling and hooting on the women while he struggled to control his… urges. When it was all over, he waited for the doors to creak open and close again before he moved. Making his way slowly to the warehouse door, he edged it open and slid out only to hear something that made his heart almost explode.

"Hey you!"

What he saw next was all of the women sprinting at him, various weapons and fists readied. That was all the motivation he needed to start sprinting! He ran through the docks, knocking down barrels and other clutter to try and impede his furious pursuers. Rounding a corner, he slammed into a man in a suit carrying a large hessian sack.

"Oh man, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine kid, but you ain't about to be." He said, dusting himself off before pulling out a pistol and firing off a shot, narrowly missing Arnott's head! Ducking low Arnott started sprinting again, scuttling away from the shots fired after him and ducking behind stacked up crates. He kept running until the shots stopped, here he looked around the barrels he was hiding behind and saw the women stomping on the person who had fired at him! Waiting until they had gone, he walked over to the hessian bag they had left behind. Untying the knot at the top he gasped when he found a man in a tuxedo badly bruised and beaten inside!

"Whoa! Are you okay? Say something if you're alive!" Arnott said, earning a pained grunt in response. "Good enough. Now let's get you to a hospital!"

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

"Yeesh. Sounds like you had a bit of a run in with the Montanas and the Pussycats. You probably won't live long around here." The bartender said sadly causing Arnott to shiver.

"Isn't that a bit heartless?" Sam asked.

"It's the truth missy. You've lived here long enough to figure that out, right?"

"Yeah…" she said. "I guess I never really belonged here."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Sam woke up and dragged herself out of bed. She mentally thanked almighty god for the holidays, meaning she could just veg out and relax. Her busy lifestyle of homework, saxophone and being a forced shut-in was really starting to get on her nerves. Her parents had never allowed her to go outside. Period. They always said that Clintz City was the definition of Urban Jungle, complete with Urban Predators. They were the type of parent that wondered why people never stopped locking their daughters in towers.

Sam dressed in her comfortable jeans and her favourite parka, one with a sort of brassy colour to it and a white fur lined hood. Sitting down at the cheap table, she poured herself some sugary yet bland cereal before reading the note left on the fridge.

"Gone out to buy groceries. Be back at twelve." She read aloud. Glancing at the clock, she saw the hand just tick over to the seven. "I've got time."

Picking up her saxophone and case, she ran down to the bottom of the apartment block. Swinging the door open, she slid down the staircase railing before running to the corner of the block. There she had a perfect view of the giant clock tower nearby. Setting down her case and bringing out her saxophone, she started to play.

In an effort to stave off death by boredom or plain old insanity, Sam had indulged in some busking. Her parents didn't approve one bit of course, which was why she only did it when they weren't around. Fortunately enough for her, that was a case that happened all too often. Eventually she had made a name for herself as Sam Sax, and there were a few people who regularly attended her small performances. She didn't just play jazz and things like that but she also listened to a few techno songs and figured out how to play them on the saxophone! It sounded awesome, it was interesting, and it annoyed the hell out of her parents. In other words, perfect.

When the clock tower eventually ticked over to half past eleven, Sam packed her saxophone and headed back up to her apartment, where her parents would be none the wiser. Going into her bedroom to count up her loot, she noticed something odd in the case along with the money she had collected. Setting it aside for the moment, he tipped out the money and started counting.

"One, two, twelve, thirty two, thirty three, thirty eight… Seventy nine Clintz! Not bad." She smirked, stashing the money into the shoebox underneath her bed.

Packing her saxophone away, she noticed the orange flyer that had been put into the case. It had a picture of an orange gas mask with blue lenses surrounded by stylish coloured writing that seemed to shift when she held it in different lights.

"Hang on, that's the Junkz logo!" she realized. "Junkz rave at the Docks, Warehouse 9 at Midnight. Featuring DJ Korr, DJ Taham and Special Guest?"

Turning over the sheet of paper, she noticed a brightly coloured plastic wristband had been taped to the flyer with the Junkz logo emblazoned around it along with a message on the back.

Come at 10:30 PM. Bring your saxophone.

-DJ Korr.

Sam took the wristband off the flyer and examined the note again and again. The more she read it, the more she wanted to go. But if her parents found out… Well they couldn't ground her. They did that every single day. But if they took away what little rights she had, as well as her saxophone…

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

"This is a terrible idea, but I'm so excited!" Sam squeaked, holding the black saxophone case close to her as she sat on the tram. Since she was going to a rave, she brought her favourite sunglasses with her, a pair of sports glasses that had been tinted to look like brass, matching her brassy hoodie and saxophone.

Getting off the tram and running down the darkened streets, she found the place. Warehouse 9 was dark from the outside, but when she stepped inside she found it to be a completely different story. Black canvas had been taped up over all the windows and a huge stage had been set up at the very back. Bright floodlights lit the area, showing several people milling about and setting up lasers, disco lights and whatever else is needed for a rave.

She snapped out of her euphoria when someone walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. A huge burly man with a black and white bucket hat. "What are you doin' here?"

"Uh… I got a note from DJ Korr." She said, taking out the orange flyer.

"Uh huh. You got the wristband?" he asked. Sam showed him and he nodded with understanding. "Cool. Name's Rowdy. You're Sam Sax, right?"

"Yes." She said nervously.

"Right. I guess DJ Korr'll probably want to see you. Just go through the door behind the stage and you'll find his trailer. Just mind Taham. He'll probably bite ya if you've got any Pillz on you." Rowdy laughed before returning to his work.

Sam looked at him oddly before continuing onwards. Stepping through the door and past several people warming their voices, she knocked on the door of the trailer. The door swung open to reveal a huge hamster like creature with headphones before it leaned in close and sniffed at her a few times.

"Hey! What do you think you're…"

"C'mon Taham, leave the poor girl alone." Came a deep voice from inside the trailer and the mega hamster retreated into the trailer. "Come on in."

Sam put a tentative foot in the trailer and peeked around the corner to see DJ Korr sitting at a vanity mirror. "So you're DJ Korr?" she asked.

"The one and only baby." He said. "Now I've heard that you've done some pretty funky tunes on that sax of yours. Mind if I have a look?"

"Well… I guess there's no harm." She shrugged, handing over her precious instrument. The DJ took it in his hands and looked it over carefully.

"Looks like you've taken good care of it. Let's just see how it sounds." He said putting it to his lips. What happened next blew Sam's mind.

The DJ's fingers blurred as the superfast saxophone noise rushed into Sam's ears and filled her brain. By the time he was finished, Sam could only stare in awe.

"Heh heh. Yeah I get that a lot." Korr said, handing the saxophone back to Sam. "Come on. I wanna teach you that before you get on stage for your performance."

"Huh? Performance?!" Sam said, more than a little startled.

"Yeah. The guys and gals of the Junkz have been lookin' for something different to get into and I think you might just be it."

"Yeah, but… In half an hour? I don't think I have the time to prepare! I mean, what if…"

"Hey hey, chill out! I wouldn't put you up to this if I thought you couldn't blow them away." He reassured. "And don't worry, I'll be backing you up if I think you need it."

"Well… I guess it couldn't hurt to try, right?"

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Sam Sax waited by the stage, listening in awe to the sounds of the rave that was going on around her. Eventually, DJ Korr mellowed down his ultra-fast music to make a special announcement.

"A'ight ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls and party animals of all ages! We've got somethin' special for you tonight! I'll be taking a backseat to present to you the funky new groove of Sam Sax and her Techno Saxo!"

The crowd cheered and several people helped her up onto the stage. Sam looked out to the crowd and saw the huge mass of people in the rave dancing to the slightly mellowed tunes. The lights flashing, the lasers spinning. It was like a roiling pot of colour.

"Alright are you ready?" DJ Korr announced to a massive cheer. "Alright Sam, hit it!"

The butterflies in Sam's stomach turned to jets as she put the saxophone to her lips and started to play one of her favourite techno songs. She was half scared to death that people would boo her off the stage, and she heard that the Junkz could get pretty violent when their music wasn't up to scratch. But she was wrong.

They didn't just like her music. From the absolute roaring they gave, they absolutely adored it!

Sam continued her song, the legendary DJ backing her up. She'd never get a chance like this again, so she'd better make the most of it. As the music pumped up to impossible levels, Sam quickly swallowed one of those Pillz that Korr had advised her to take before playing.

("Don't worry, they aren't drugs or nothin'. While there's plenty of those kinda things out in the rave, Pillz aren't addictive. Morphun himself told me. Though I'm pretty sure it could just be some kinda condensed form of my buddy Sentogan's energy drink, but I could be wrong." He said, handing her a big ziplock bag full of the yellow and pink tablets. "It'll also increase your strength for a little while for each Pill you take, so be careful of that. But whatever you do, don't take more than twelve of 'em at the same time. You'll probably beef up so much you'll turn into a big ol' skin balloon when it wears off and you'll take off!")

She felt energy rush into all the parts of her body and her muscles tense up slightly. Her fingers blurred as the music from the saxophone and the turntable combined to create a truly unbelievable, incredible sound. She could almost see shockwaves erupting from her instrument and pulsing over the swaying and dancing crowd.

When the song ended, the crowd cheered wildly. Sam found that she was exhausted by both her nerves, the performance and partying in the crowd beforehand. Stepping down from the stage, she was handed a can by a smiling girl in a Japanese schoolgirl uniform and bright green hair.

"You look like you could use a pick-me-up. Here!" she said. "My name's Akkiko. I love your music!"

"Hey, thanks." She said tiredly, taking a sip from the drink and immediately feeling more awake than ever. She put her saxophone back in the case and snapped it shut before taking another sip of the energy drink. "This place is amazing."

And then something went terribly, terribly wrong.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

"The Junkz, huh? I never would have picked you for the party type." The bartender snorted. "So what went wrong?"

"I have no idea. After I finished playing everything went black and there was a loud bang and gunfire filled the air. The next thing I know I was following these guys." She said, indicating to the other three.

"I think it may have been my fault." Thorpe said, setting down his martini glass. "It all started when I visited Borgia's Palace."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Thorpe belonged to one of the richest old money families in Clintz City, their family having made billions off their highly successful law firm. As such, he was often seen milling around the Uppers' parties along with his parents, who were firm believers in the law and fairness for all.

On his twenty fifth birthday, Thorpe decided to hold the big party at Borgia's Palace. Probably the worst idea he'd ever had. He had arrived in an immaculate suit with several of his close friends for a huge birthday party. He wasn't normally one to gamble, since he had always been told to be careful with his money, but his friends had pressured him into it for his birthday. And he had played 21 avidly as a child, so he didn't see any reason why he couldn't now. They had a special VIP table in the deeper rooms of the Palace, where the high rollers usually played.

The dealer sidled up to the table where Thorpe, his three friends and a blonde woman with a sparkling blue dress were seated.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, let's have a nice fair game and have fun." The dealer said as he spun out the cards. Thorpe swore he saw the woman's lips curl slightly when the dealer mentioned the word 'fair'.

The few of them played for a while, and through the entire night, Thorpe noticed the chips on the woman's side of the table grow higher and higher. Eventually, he found himself with an ace and a two.

"All in." the woman said, pushing her mountain of chips into the centre of the table. Thorpe's friends looked at each other and folded. But Thorpe had other plans.

"I'll match that." He said, putting on his best sly grin. The woman looked in interest.

"I'll stay."

"Hit me." The dealer slid a card towards Thorpe. A Jack. "Hit me." Another card slid his way. Thorpe picked it up with a tentative hand, and saw that it was an eight!

The two players revealed their cards. The woman had twenty, and Thorpe? A winning twenty one! He noticed the woman's eye twitch ever so slightly, but he was too excited to notice!

"Woo hoo! You won big Thorpe!" laughed one of his friends. "Ready to play some more?"

"No thanks, I think I'll take while the taking's good." He laughed, scratching his head. "Can someone help me carry these to the cashier?"

Just as he said that, the door was busted open and both of his friends as well as the dealer fell dead, a bullet hole in each of their foreheads!

"What the hell?!" shouted Thorpe before being knocked onto the table by a fierce punch before he was attacked again by a barrage of blows, the last thing he saw was the wickedly smiling woman before he faded into an unconscious state. The next thing he knew, he was lying in a hospital bed.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

"Ah. I think I may know that woman you were talkin' about. Her name's Ottavia. A nice broad, but she's got one helluva temper. And she's in deep with Montana. She plays the tables, both figuratively and literally. Oh, and she doesn't like it if or when she loses. You're lucky you got out with your life my friend. This one's on the house. God knows you've earned it." He said, pouring Thorpe another martini before turning to Getz. "So what's your story my friend?"

Getz stared into the bottom of his glass before putting it back on the counter. "I guess I should start from when I woke up."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Getz had grown up in the ghetto of Clintz City. He had seen the terrible state the place was in and decided he needed to do something about it. So the first chance he could, he joined up with the Clintz City Police Force. However, he noticed that a lot of money was trading hands in the CCPF offices, so he left to join up with Sentinel. Ever since, he had been working as an undercover cop in the more slummy areas of the city. In the daytime, he would snooze in the office waiting for Copper to give him his next assignment, and at night he would be stalking in the shadows of the slum, investigating targets and looking out for trouble.

In fact, he would sleep in his office so often that they gave him a bed instead of a desk chair. Which he was currently sleeping in. Well, until Copper showed up and slapped a manila folder on the desk.

"Getz, up and at 'em if you please." Copper huffed. "It's urgent."

Getz rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up in his bed. "What's up?"

"There's a man named Thorpe who was recently assaulted by the Montanas."

"Aw man, those guys again? I tell ya man, it's always the friggin' Montanas." Getz grumbled, scratching his head.

"Well pay attention to this because I don't have the time to repeat it. He was going to be drowned over by the docks but was saved by the unintentional intervention of the Pussycats."

"Pussycats? Aren't those the crazy man hatin' chicks? What are they doing helping him? And what do you mean, unintentional?" Getz asked as he thumbed through the file.

"What I mean is that the Pussycats were chasing somebody else when they stumbled upon the bagman carrying one Mister Thorpe. After they beat up the Montana goon they left the area, leaving Thorpe still tied up in the bag. He only got out thanks to the person the Pussycats were chasing after. Some poor tourist kid named Arnott." Copper explained. "Apparently he caught more than a glimpse of one of the Pussycat's mud wrestling matches."

"That lucky sonovabitch." Getz laughed. "That's a crazy ass case right there. So what do you want me to do?"

"Word is that the Montanas are pissed off at the Pussycats for stomping one of their pawns, so they're going to attack the abandoned Warehouse where they were located that day."

"But the warehouse's abandoned, so who cares? As long as nobody gets hurt, right?"

"Someone is going to get hurt." Copper reprimanded. "It seems that the Junkz have decided to hold an impromptu rave in the exact same place at around about the exact same time that the Montanas are planning to show up."

"Aw crap. Now we've gotta get a whole buncha junkies away from their dance floor before they get blown to bits? Lord help us all."

"Yes. We'll have several others to try and herd the crowd, but you'll be responsible for turning off the power. Hopefully that will give us enough time to get everyone out before the Montanas arrive. Which will probably be in about one hour."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Getz arrived at the location along with the team comprised of Chloe, Havok, Sammy, Copper and Klaus.

"Alright, everybody ready?" Copper asked. "Getz, you cut the power. Sammy, Klaus, you get everyone out. Chloe, Havok and I will make sure nothing goes wrong. Got it? Let's go."

Getz bolted around the back of the warehouse where he found a huge man slumped over a power generator, apparently unconscious.

"Might have to get a crane to lug this guy outta here." Getz groaned, leaning over and cutting the power

As if on cue, gunfire filled the air and the warehouse door burst open, angry, dazed and confused Junkz members spilling out of the now darkened warehouse.

"Please don't panic! Everyone leave the area in an orderly… oh who the hell am I kidding?"

A huge explosion erupted down at the front of the warehouse and the building began to crumble. It was then he heard a shout from inside the warehouse after both Klaus and Sammy had run out.

"You idiots forgot someone!" Getz shouted, lunging into the collapsing building. Sammy's eyes bugged as he leaned over to Klaus.

"If he wasn't wearing our uniform, I'd swear he was with the Rescue."

Getz took out his torch and gun, flicking on the torch and scanning around the darkness of the collapsing building.

"Over here!" shouted a girl, a metal frame pinning her to the concrete by her leg.

Getz lifted the metal up and away and got the girl to her feet. "Are you hurt? Can you walk?"

"I-I can't feel my leg!" She stuttered.

"We'll worry about that later, cause we're gettin' the hell outta here!"

"I need my saxophone!" she shouted.

"What, this thing?" Getz asked, hoisting up the black case he'd found, internally smiling at the girl's astounded expression.

The two managed to just get out of the building before it collapsed behind them, sending sparks into the air from the broken equipment. The girl he was holding yelled in pain before leaning on Getz. He looked down and saw a length of splintered wood going straight through her calf.

"Shit, that's not good. Klaus! Bring the car around, we have to get this girl to the hospital!" Getz shouted.

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

"The hospital? Wasn't that the place that was bombed just this afternoon?" The bartender asked.

"That's right." Arnott said. "Unfortunately, we were right in the thick of it."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

Arnott sat in the waiting room, wondering what to think about his situation. He had probably angered a whole bunch of people by running into that one guy, but hopefully they'd just brush it off as an accident. Though there was no way that was going to happen, since those women that were chasing him had beaten the snot out of him. Hopefully though, they'd forgotten about him.

"Excuse me, are you Arnott?" asked a passing nurse.

"Y-yes. Is there something you need?" he asked.

"The patient you brought in wants to see you." She said.

Arnott got up and followed her up the stairs, but was knocked to the floor by someone who had come up behind him! Before he could even move or wonder what had happened, he felt rope snake its way quickly around his body before constricting, causing him to bend in an awkward and very painful position before he felt knees slamming into his back, causing his breath to rush out of him.

"Ow! What the… What's going o-"

"Be quiet!" hissed the nurse. "Now I'm going to ask you a simple question. Did you have any cameras with you when you were spying on us?"

"I wasn't spying on you! I didn't even know- argh!"

Whoever was on his back was twisting his fingers, and it felt like they were about to break off!

"Don't try to lie to us!" the nurse said, leaning in close and lifting his head up by his hair. "Did you, or did you not?"

"No! I didn't!" Arnott wheezed. Sweet oxygen rushed back into his lungs as the woman on his back got off him and he rolled onto his stomach.

"I don't even know why you called me for this. It's a waste of my talents." The other woman said, brushing an errant strand of hair out of her face.

"Well you were the only one close enough to help me catch him. Plus you have that habit of carrying several lengths of rope wherever you go."

"I thought we agreed not to talk about that." The other woman snapped.

"Geez, calm down." The nurse sighed.

"I guess I should thank you at any rate." Arnott said, struggling to find comfort within the ropes. "If you weren't chasing after me, I'd probably have a bullet hole in my skull. I owe you ladies."

The two women just looked at him with slight distaste before returning their attention to Arnott.

"Just because we saved your sorry ass, doesn't mean we're through with you." The other woman said.

Crap.

Before anyone could do anything however, the three felt a shockwave and a loud explosion. After they all recovered from the initial shock, they heard shots being fired from nearby!

"What the hell?"

"Must be the Montanas. I hear that there's someone in this hospital they want dead." The nurse said.

"Is it this kid?" the other woman asked.

"No, some other guy."

As the two started to leave, Arnott realised that he was still tied up. "Hey wait! What about me?"

"Since you're young and we're in a hurry, we'll let you off with this as your warning. You can just sit in the corridor like a good little boy. Try not to get shot at!"

"Crap crap crap crap crap!" groaned Arnott, pulling against the ropes to try and free himself, but the ropes only managed to get tighter! "What am I gonna do now?"

Arnott had no choice but to wait until someone found him. He just hoped it wasn't those Montanas those two had been talking about.

"Hey! Are you okay?" said a new voice from down a corridor. It was that guy he had rescued!

"I'm a little tied up at the moment." Arnott said.

"I can see that. Here, let me help you." He said, his good hand struggling with the knots. "Ah! It's no good. Blast! Of course this is the one time I get a broken limb."

"Maybe if you find a knife you can cut me free." Arnott suggested.

"I can't go back in there! It's a bloody battle royale! It's best if we just stay put for now. That Sentinel officer should be here soon. He was just finding a girl that got caught in the crossfire."

*v*v*v*

Five Minutes Earlier…

*v*v*v*

Officer Getz was sitting by the bedside of the man who that boy Arnott had saved. When he came to, he started dressing in his tuxedo again before Getz began with the usual round of questions before asking what had happened in its entirety. Usually there were other members of Sentinel suited for this sort of thing, but nobody was available.

"Right. So at Borgia's Palace, you won a Blackjack game against a woman blonde in a blue dress. Almost immediately afterwards, your two friends and the dealer were shot in the head."

"That is correct." The man said, sliding into his tuxedo jacket and fixing his bow tie before smoothing back his hair. "Though after this incident I need to get some form of protection against these Montana thugs."

"Well you're in luck. As of today I will be your bodyguard until you are able to afford a private security team of your own. We Sentinels have places to be and people to protect. You understand, right?"

"Completely. The law must be upheld." The man agreed.

"Now that's what I like to hear." Getz said before making his way to the door. "I'll be just outside if you need me."

As soon as he opened the door, he heard an explosion from downstairs followed the sounds of gunfire echoing down the hallway. Copper's voice crackled in his earpiece.

"Getz! Getz, are you there?"

"Loud and clear Copper. Lemme guess. It's the Montanas?"

"How did you know?" Copper replied sarcastically. "We need you to get Thorpe out of there! Escort him to the bottom floor and get him out of here!"

"Rodger that." Getz said before turning back to Thorpe. "Are you able to walk?"

"Yes. What's going on?" Thorpe said, hurrying on his expensive shoes.

"Those guys from before are here to try to kill you again, but they aren't gonna. Because I'm gonna get you outta here." Getz said, grabbing onto Thorpe's forearm.

Getz led him down the hallways, ducking behind cover when bullets were sprayed in their direction. It was behind cover that Getz heard a familiar scream.

"It's that girl from the warehouse!" he said. "Argh, whaddo I do? If I let her stay here she'll die in the crossfire! Then again, Rescue'll probably be on the way here… Thorpe! Get yourself to the stairwell and wait for me there, but stay hidden! I'll be back!"

Getz vaulted over the overturned table they were hiding behind before shooting the one of the Montana goons at the end of the hallway. The other three looked briefly at their fallen comrade before returning fire, but by that time Getz had already gotten behind some more cover and was crouching next to the girl.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but I lost my crutch! The doctor said I shouldn't walk without it for at least a week." she said. "I think it's over with those guys with the guns!"

"Just peachy." Getz groaned. "I'll get it back for you. Just cover your ears."

Getz reached into his belt and pulled out a concussion grenade and pulled the pin before tossing it at the mobsters. After the initial white flash and deafening noise, he rushed up to the remaining guards and knocked them out with some quick punches before taking the ammo from their guns and tossing it out a nearby window. Picking up the crutch, he ran back to the girl and helped her to her feet before she picked up her saxophone case.

"Now come on, we need to hurry up and get out of here."

Getz's earpiece crackled to life again. "Getz, what's your situation?"

"Thorpe is hiding at the stairwell and I have just saved an innocent bystander. I'm taking them all back to HQ until this all blows over." Getz replied.

"Good idea. Just make sure you get them there alive. Copper out."

"Rodger." Getz said, turning to the girl. "Alright, let's get you outta here."

The two quickly made their way over to the stairwell where they found Thorpe sitting on a bench and a tied up teenager lying on the floor. "Hey! Care to give me a hand?"

"I don't have time for this shit." Getz said before pulling out his Swiss Army knife and cutting him free. "Come on, We have to leave."

The four quickly descended the stairs before leaving the hospital doors and cramming into a black sedan waiting outside. The engine roared to life as the car pulled onto the road. Swerving through cars, the sedan only narrowly missed several catastrophic accidents and crashes. Eventually, the secret Sentinel base entrance came into sight, but the road had been blocked off by several cars with tinted windows!

Getz cursed under his breath before reaching up to his earpiece and swerving into an alley. "Copper, the HQ is blocked off by Montana goons. I'll lay low for a while and then head to the Hellfire Club. You can take 'em off my hands then. Don't worry you guys, I'll be sure to buy you drinks."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

"And so, here we all are." Getz finished, returning to his new beer.

"Well, that's quite a story." The bartender said, checking his watch. "Say, shouldn't that Copper fella be here by now?"

As if on cue, the door to the seedy little bar opened and Copper strode in.

"There you are. Good job on getting Thorpe and Arnott out of there safely. Though I have no idea who this girl is." Copper said, striding over to the bar. "I believe you said something about owing me a drink?"

"Well it's nearly closing time, so you'd better hurry up." The bartender said. "Oh and by the way, these guys told me the whole story but don' worry. I know how to keep things hush-hush."

Copper sighed in exasperation. "Getz…"

"Hey, I'm tired and drunk. Things slip out either way. Besides, my report will be that much better. Provided I 'member half of this when *hic* I sober up."

*v*v*v*

*v*v*v*

After those two eventful days, Arnott vowed never to return to Clintz City. He was however able to come up with the plot for a new movie. He called it 'The Life of a Bystander: Accidental Innocence Lost'. It made a small fortune, and was hugely popular with most of the citizens of Clintz City who didn't know that the movie was about their city. Which was most of them.

Thorpe's bad experience with the Montana Family crime syndicate left him with a burning desire to wipe them off the face of the earth. He decided to invest heavily into the Sentinel's budget as well as paying La Junta members to set off bombs in Borgia's Palace. Having his fellow Uppers to defend him was also a nice touch, provided he keep paying them of course.

Sam, or Sam Sax is she is now known, was put in lockdown by her parents after a tearful reunion. She hasn't seen daylight for three months. Her only contact with the outside world is now through her computer, where many Junkz members already impressed with her performance at the Disastrous Dock Rave, as it was now known, could now listen to her 'Techno Saxo' music. She also made more money from online purchases of her song than she ever did while busking! She was also frequently visited by her new friend Akkiko, and Sam Sax was able to sneak out most of the time for the Junkz's midnight raves, only to return in the wee morning hours.

Getz however simply went back to his office, turned down the lights and nodded off to sleep.

Yup. An average two days in Clintz City.


End file.
